Saturday, December 31, 2011

Findings: I will abandon use of ConVirt 2.0 in favor of virt-manager.ConVirt is not for the faint at heart and imho its limitations and challenges overshadow its advantages at this point in time. Keep watching, though, maybe someday, if they stick with it they will have a world class Opensource Hypervisor!

Pro's of virt-manager over ConVirt 2.0

Cleaner interface

Lower footprint and easier setup

Does everything a small shop needs

More options on disk management

No need to have a VM running constantly just for running the interface

This was not successful, though bridge br0 is now working properly, the network is not working properly for the main computer. --- br0 and eth0 are showing same ip address and MAC address. also, the computer says the wired network device is not managed. Also, running /etc/init.d/networking restart gives message "...is deprecated because it may not enable again some interfaces... *Reconfiguring network interfaces... RTNETLINK answers: No such process; ssh stop/waiting; ssh start/running, process 3083; ssh stop/waiting; ssh start/running, process 3199"

Still problems, tried the cap_net 64 command and it did not throw an error this time

also changed /etc/network/interfaces line

from..... iface eth0 inet dhcp

to.... iface eth0 inet manual

Now when rebooting everything works fine, with the exception that the gui networking device manager does not see or control eth0... is this now a function of capnet??? Actually, probably part of the following two points.

no prob, the command ifconfig shows proper connetion of br0 and any new VM I create connects to my DHCP server to get its IP address, so it appears all is well.

Also, now ifconfig shows no IP address for my eth0, just for my br0, but I usnderstand that this is normal and that eth0 automatically gets its traffic through br0.

I am a bit concerned about the SSH information given when restarting networking (sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart) still gives the messages "ssh stop/waiting; ssh start/running, process 3083; ssh stop/waiting; ssh start/running, process 3199". Maybe this is part of the RTNETLINK process and is normal. I will want to verify this on the server install.

I have not tried this yet, but suppose it will work also, since I currently have not problems, no need to try here. The point of my eth0 having no separate IP address listed is normal as eth0 traffic routes through br0.

Decided to create a VM on my desktop for this. Its creation is straight forward using Virtual Machine Manager. I created a VM of Linux Mint 11 64bit Gnome, which is akin to my desktop setup.

OK, that did not work, so need to install an earlier version of Ubuntu as Linux mint 11 is based on 11.04 and the script only accounts for versions up to ubuntu 10.10, so maybe I will install an Ubuntu server as a VM on my desktop.... done... selecting only openSSH server for install.....
hmmmm, after trying the step by step convirt install, it failed, maybe they wanted ubuntu desktop instead of server....

Could try with an Ubuntu 10.04 desktop, then use the partner directory..... perhaps should have tried this first!

In the process of doing the above, I discovered that Virtual Machine Manager can connect to Virtual Machines on my server directly.... though right now it seems to have trouble connecting to local storage on the server.... likely some configuration changes needed. If ConVirt 2.0 seems to be too unstable or difficult to use, maybe vanilla Virtual Machine Manager will do the trick... Guess I don't really have a need for the fancy stuff like live migration anyway...

ran first command of install_dependencies and ran into an error with libc6-xen not being installable.... may either have to manually go through the setup or use another virutual machine of an earlier distribution.

So, starting again on the Ubuntu Server 10.10 x64 VM created above, with only OpenSSH server installed.

sudo apt-get install wget sudo

this updated the sudo package

wget the 3 files

tar -xzf convirt-install-2.0.1.tar.gz

untars in the home directory

sudo ./convirt-install/install/cms/scripts/install_dependencies

installs the dependencies

entered "convirt" as the mysql root crediential, will change later

Setup innodb buffer and memory pool

found the my.cnf configturation file in different location than specified in instructions. Was found in directory /etc/mysql

this file states at the top that golbal options are setup in file and user-specific are setup in ~/.my.cnf ... since this machine is only for CMS, I will set it up globally by adding the two lines to /etc/mysql/my.cnf in the mysqld section

sudo nano /etc/mysql/my.cnf

innodb_buffer_pool_size=1G

innodb_additional_mem_pool_size=20M

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart

restarts mysql... convirt instructions had typos here

untar the CMS tarball... done

TurboGears setup gives some errors:

EnvironmentError: mysql_config not found

Error: installing mysql-python

Error: Failed creating Turbogears2 environment

Whatever we do now probably will not work without fixing these errors,however

setup sql database

Run setup convirt ... which throws more errors about dependencies.... maybe they meant to install this on Ubuntu desktop edition, rather than server edition.

GRRRRR, getting frustrated

Maybe I will just install the appliance disk.... Now downloading on KVM server

Downloaded the server, then unpacked it, but could not start it using instructions on Convirt website, rather completed remote control setup of managed server using Virtual Machine Manager.

tar -jxf convirt-appliance-2.0.1.tbz2

unpacked file

then created directory /mnt/sotrage/vm_disks

moved disk there (c2_appliance.disk.xm)

apt-get install chkconfig

installed chkconfig, but it did no good as the point was to turn on libvirtd, but it was not installed , however another service must be in its place

Things are running well, and I can install new machines and configure storage pools, etc.

However, I am finding that virt-manager VMM native to linux is now just as powerful and combine it with virsh shell, more so.

ConVirt's formatting and arrangement seems a little disorganized and dated. For example, settings for new virtual machines are not as well presented as in virt-manager and certainly not close to that of VirtualBox or

Running Virt-manger on server from another computer: Curiosity based test.... if I was on another (linux) computer and did not have virt-manager installed, could I still manage virtual machines on the server?

ssh user@serverip =to log into server from console on laptop

sudo apt-get install virt-manager =to install VMM gui

exit =to get out of ssh tunnel

ssh -X user@serverip =to get back in with X shell enabled

vir-manager =to open vir-manager..... works well and I can connect to the server and see VMs and settings I applied remotely from virt-manager on my desktop computer.

Conclusion:

I will abandon ConVirt 2.0 and utilize Virt-manager.

Pro's of virt-manager over ConVirt 2.0

Cleaner interface

Lower footprint and easier setup

Does everything a small shop needs

More options on disk management

No need to have a VM running constantly just for running the interface

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

My Win 7 laptop was zippy a couple years ago with 8 Gig Ram, fast single core processor. Win 7 updates and a couple years of use have taken its toll on current speed so that now I struggle sometimes listen to streaming music while entering receipts into a database. Don't get me started about my frustrations about trying to watch Netflix or Hulu and do ANYTHING else. Used to work fine even on dual monitors. On the plus side, I am more productive while doing the anything else, but then again sometimes it is nice to mostly relax while doing a little mundane business accounting in the evening.

So I decided to drop my laptop and move to a faster desktop running Linux Mint 11 (Gnome, 64bit). I already use Linux Mint LXDE on several older laptops at home which were bogging down with Win XP, but now are quite zippy, thanks to LXDE's responsive GUI. I also have a couple desktops for the kids to play on which dual boot XP and Linux Mint 9 (Gnome, 64bit) which I have been very happy with, especially the Linux Mint 9 portion of that.

OK, so down to it.

Install:

Standard DVD install. Started off trying to use bios (software) raid after determining Linux Mint does not have Linux RAID options in the setup menu as is available during the Ubuntu Server install process. Maybe I could setup Linux software raid using PartitionMagic or SystemRescueCD, but unsure. I got bogged down in implementation of the bios software raid, specifically in setting up the boot manager, so after thinking about it decided to install to a single hard drive, which will be more energy efficient anyway, then setup regularly scheduled backups using a rsync type product.

Syncing and Bacup:

First needed to get my files from my Win 7 laptop.

Failed Attempt - But only because not mounted locally, so LuckyBackup cannot reach them
start by trying to mount by GVFS

Change Samba Shares for new FreeNAS storage device -- alternately could have used SSH for share
Able to see Samba shares on the FreeNAS storage device via Nautilis, so do the following to mount to permanent location for backup software access

Install ClamTK
This is the front end for ClamAV, installed so I can scan files on removable media for viruses as I have several Windows computers at home.

Other Programs Installed:

BibleTime - very nice bible, etc reading program

Calibre - ebook management software to sync with and manage ebooks for my Sony reader.... I actually have not tested this yet for syncing, but I can add my titles just fine. I intend to test next time I want to sync. Looks like a very nice application with cool features like converting books and sharing with multiple devises.

DigiKam - I use this program for batch renaming my photos to something based on the day it was taken.

Filelight - (not necessary) nice light weight disk usage analysis tool, but Disk Usage Analyzer (Baobab 2.32.0) works just as well or better even, so did not need this extra program... though will keep using it on lighter weight installations.

FileZilla - Very nice tool for moving files from local to remote locations using SSH and other connection schemes.

FreeMind - mind mapping tool

Furious ISO mount - for mounting virtual disks

Guake Terminal - terminal access using f12 and more -- very nice! Set it to launch when I log in.

Hamster-applet (or Time Tracker) - Keeps track of time spent on various tasks while on computer

KeePass X - nifty password storage program

LibreOffice 3.5.3.2 - latest version right now.... installed by adding additional repository - see Ubuntu help sources for how to do this -- do not try adding .deb packages from LibreOffice web site as it is too time consuming and confusing

LuckyBackup - very nice rsync based backup utility

MySQL stuff: see my blog on MySQL setup :)

OpenProj - see above

PuTTy - for those times I want an SSH session outside of terminal (I prefer this for just a couple things)

Remmina - Remote desktop application with support for VNC, RDP, SSH and more

SweetHome 3D - not a great program, but good for a free layout/design program

Vinagre - another remote desktop application, mainly for VNC.... works very nice in Gnome.

Xournal - cool program for mixing hand writing and text together... too bad there isn't a cloud version yet or it doesn't work with google docs.

Xiphos Bible Guide - another bible study tool

Stuff I tried and didn't like
Either these apps were not for me or did not work well on my version of mint

aclock - graphics poor, menu system broken in this Gnome, so hard to close, gets in the way.

Krusader - twin panel file management a little too old school for my tastes, plus added a lot of KDE desktop stuff I didn't need otherwise. I also generally use Filezilla for moving stuff from local to remote locations.

Tomboy Notes - very nice program.... just not how I organize my thoughts.

Files listed in /opt/.filetool.lst must have the following command run to persist past reboot

[sudo filetool.sh -b] this permanently saves file - past reboot

firewall setting, uservars, etc. This is because these OS and files run from memory. Exception are files running from hard drive like /mnt/sda1/...

to change list [sudo nano /opt/.filetool.lst]

memory

To change how much RAM a world will use requires editing of the /usr/games/minecraft/uservars file.Adjust the DEFAULT_MEM=1024to match the desired amount of memory in MB.Save changes with 'sudo filetool.sh -b'Stop and restart any running worlds.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Install Ubuntu Server AMD64 as a virtual machine in VMware ESXi. Take default options and when get to the software selection screen only choose 'OpenSSH Server'

References following are some of the sites I pulled ideas and info from. None of these sites had all the information I needed in one step by step formula plus I setup in virtual environment with 2 network cards.

When completed type [sudo ifconfig] and discover IP address. The default of getting IP address from DHCP server is acceptable. Write down MAC address and IP address of eth0. I wanted to assign a specif IP address from my router, so I made the entry there then ran the following commands to renew IP address

[sudo dhclient -r]

[sudo dhclient]

or I could have used [sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

In VMware I had provisioned 2 Ethernet cards. Eth0 is setup to access my main office network using the default setup. Eth1 is setup to manage the DRBL environment as DHCP server. First, I add the following lines to the network setup configuration file.

[sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces] then add the following:

#eth1 used for DRBL / Clonezilla environment

auto eth1

iface eth1 inet static

address 172.30.40.1

network 172.30.40.0

netmask 255.255.255.0

broadcast 172.30.40.255

ctrl-O to save, ctrl-X to exit

[sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart] to restart networking

[sudo ifconfig eth1] to verify changes

DHCP Server

Now to setup the DHCP server on eth1

[sudo apt-get install dhcp3-server] installs DHCP server

[sudo nano /etc/default/dhcp3-server] edits the server config file

change interface line to read 'INTERFACES="eth1"'

save and exit

Now configure DHCP server to dole out addresses from an address pool for any computer connecting to it.

for the eth1 DRBL environment, I received a warning that my IP address was a class A or B private network. It wanted me to use the class C private network of 192.168.*.* and warned me that performance of multicasting clone "will be terribly worse!" with current configuration. ... interesting.... I'll leave it alone for now and see what happens or read up a bit more.

Collect MAC addresses of clients? No

Offer same IP address? No since this is related to last question

Initial number in the last digit set? 11

number of clients? 20

accept setup? y

Diskless Linux service? 2, since we are only using DRBL for cloning, not for providing diskless linux services to client computers

Clonezilla mode? 1 [box mode] since it uses less server resources and is adequate for cloning

default directory to store your images? /clonezilla --since this is easier to remember than /home/partimag

pxelinux password? no

boot prompt for clients? no

graphic background for PXE menu when boot? yes

DRBL server as NAT server? no, since clients do not need to access the Internet through the DRBL server... just using for cloning and not for live usage

ready to deploy? yes

I now get a message that "The config file is saved as /etc/drbl/drblpush.conf. Therefore if you want to run drblpush with the same config again, you may run it as: /opt/drbl/sbin/drblpush -c /etc/drbl/drblpush.conf"

I had a bit of a challenge setting up a seperate lan on eth1 as I did for Clonezilla, so abandoning for now.

I think I will even consider setting up FOG on the same network. There are a couple ways of having FOG coexist with your current DHCP server and network. The preferred method is to have your existing DHCP server forward PXE requests to the FOG server. An alternate method is to setup FOG as a DHCP proxy server which pickups on PXE requests.

I'll leave this for another project for now, but go back to the more familiar clonezilla with easy dual NIC setup. FOG does look otherwise polished and promising so definitely worth a revisit.

Clonezilla on 32 bit Ubuntu server

Again based on Ubuntu 10.10, but 32 bit version.

Follow similar steps for Installation as listed above

while setting up the DRBL server was also asked which archetecture to install, I chose i486 (instead of i386 or same as DRBL server options)

Add second ethernet settings

[sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces] then add the following:

#eth1 used for DRBL / Clonezilla environment

auto eth1

iface eth1 inet static

address 172.30.45.1

network 172.30.45.0

netmask 255.255.255.0

broadcast 172.30.45.255

ctrl-O to save, ctrl-X to exit

[sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart] to restart networking

[sudo ifconfig eth1] to verify changes

Needed to perform steps under network configuration (above)

But did not need to perform steps listed in DHCP server configuration (above), this was setup automatically during the DRBL and Clonezilla server setup

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

For the last couple years I've been looking for a good source of encyclopedia content in Spanish for Linux with pictures included. In the past I've used downloaded wikipedia dumps, but these did not include photos and did not include smart searching functionality.

I then stumbled across CDPedia in Spanish. I downloaded CDPedia project and found it worked well on Win XP machines, but did not work on the Ubuntu or Linux Mint machines I had. Additionally, it took days to download the CD version and weeks for the DVD version as there were limited torrent seeders with limited bandwidth.

Most recently a couple new programs with a lot of promise have shown up: Kiwix and Okawix. Both of these are opensource with free content. Both are relative newcomers.

Kiwix

Kiwix uses the open source ZIM format. It can be installed in Ubuntu derivative OS's natively from a personal package archive as follows.

Before performing first search the system will ask you to index the file which will take a while.

Kiwix shows a lot of promise and seems to be quite stable and simple to use. Tested version is 0.9 alpha. After opening the Spanish wikipedia for the first time, it reopened the same file then next time it was launched. I am excited to see how this will progress. The one drawback is that there seems to be limited zim files created for Spanish content. There is the Spanish Wikipedia, but none of the other wiki content that I have yet found, but I imagine that is just a matter of time. This is definitely a strong contender for inclusion on my remastered DVD.

Okawix

Okawix is similar to Kiwix. I tested version 0.7. You need to download then run its executable. If you want to access this program from the menu you need to manually make make the entries which makes setup more labor intensive and not for the novice. However, adding content is easier than Kiwix since it is literally point and click first language then type of content desired. This is a huge feature and there is much broader Spanish language content available. Also you actively choose whether to include photos or not and the files include indexes so the indexing step of installation is not required. Once a okawix wiki is included (by downloading or linking ot local source) it is included in the list of available corpus and switching between the installed wikis is simply point and click. In my last test, Okawix froze up a couple times over several days for unexplained reasons.

Leanings

I'm excited to watch both of these. For Kiwix I like that is installs easily with a menu entry, seems quite stable, and has slightly simpler controls when only a single corpus is desired. For Okawix I like the broader content available. Since Wikipedia is the principal content desired, for now, I will be moving forward with Kiwix and watching Okawix waiting for a little further development.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Here is my list of games that had good reviews or seemed promising but I decided not to include in my distribution for Spanish kids. I am including names and reasons so I don't have to revisit my work here again.

Games

einstein - logic game quite challenging, but perhaps too much so

flight of the amazon queen - very dos like cheesy game

freecol - like colonization but was more complicated than other similar turn based strategy games included

freedink - all English and not very entertaining

micropolis - city sim but complex and no Spanish language

singularity - too complex

widelands - not the best rts available... currently not polished enough